Inter Milan Captain Embroiled In Razor-Tight Ballon D’Or Race Alongside Real Madrid Trio & Man City Star | OneFootball

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez is among the early favorites in what seems to be one of the most uncertain Ballon d’Or races in recent memory.

Over the past 15 years, Football mega-stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo largely dominated this winners’ list. The Argentine prevailed on an astonishing eight occasions, while his arch-nemesis collected five trophies.

Only Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) managed to break this duopoly.

But with Father Time finally catching up with Ronaldo and Messi, the landscape appears much more balanced.

So as L’Equipe (via FcInterNews) explains, we could be about to witness one of the most open Ballon d’Or battles in recent years.

The source names five main candidates for the honor, including Lautaro Martinez.

The Nerazzurri skipper enjoyed a sensational campaign on club level, leading Inter’s charge towards a historic Scudetto triumph.

He also finished the season as the Serie A top-goalscorer, leaving his foes in the dust from the early going.

The 26-year-old then played an instrumental role in Argentina’s successful Copa America title defense.

Despite often coming in as a substitute, Martinez still finished the tournament as the top goalscorer with five strikes to his name, including the extra-time winner in the final against Colombia.

Lautaro Martinez Joins Bellignham, Rodri, Vinicius & Carvajal In Open Ballon D’Or Race

The French newspaper also names four other candidates and three of them won the Champions League with Real Madrid.

Jude Bellingham had a fantastic maiden season in the Spanish capital. While his EURO 2024 campaign had its highs and lows, the young midfielder produced what was arguably the goal of the tournament, pulling off a last-minute bicycle-kick equalizer against Slovakia.

His Los Blancos teammate Vinicius was an early favorite, but lost some steam due to Brazil’s shambolic Copa America campaign.

For his part, Dani Carvajal finds himself in the fold as a double European champion. He won the Champions League with Real and the EURO 2024 with Spain.

The last candidate on the list is Man City midfielder Rodri who was named Best Player in the European Championship. He also collected yet another Premier League trophy with the Cityzens.